The conventional tip and ring connector plug utilized in many telephone applications is also used in a number of musical instruments such as guitars, bass guitars, banjos and the like. The plug-and-jack connector is often required to perform a variety of different functions. Thus, in completing a signal connection the conventional plug connector may be required to switch a power source to an amplifier; the power source may have an operating voltage of 9 volts. The connector may also be required to mute other signal connections.
When an ordinary telephone-type connector plug is first plugged into a conventional jack, it almost always touches the sleeve of the jack, which is usually grounded. This produces a rather loud clicking and humming sound which can be very disturbing to listeners. This noise results because the tip electrode of the plug, which is usually the "hot" side of the signal circuit, is connected temporarily to the wrong side of the source of signals to be supplied to the amplifier. In the case of an electrical guitar, the tip electrode may actually be connected temporarily to the body of the guitar and even to the guitar player. The noises produced when a plug-and-jack connection is made have long been a problem and a handicap to guitar players, particularly in instances when the connection is made in the course of a performance. Even in those instances in which the connection is completed before the performance begins, the resultant noise is quite objectionable.